Originally Posted on April 15, 2025 in NewsWest9.

Congressman August Pfluger returned to the energy capital of West Texas on Tuesday to lead a roundtable discussion on oil and gas policy. 

Pfluger was joined by EPA Regional Administrator Scott Mason and North Dakota Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak for a site visit and stakeholder meeting in Midland. 

The visit focused on rolling back regulations placed on the Permian Basin during the Biden administration and highlighting legislative efforts made during President Donald Trump’s time in office.

“A year ago, we had the threat from the EPA of putting the Permian Basin into a status of non-attainment, which would make it even harder to produce that affordable, reliable energy,” Pfluger said during a press conference. “Because we came to Midland a year ago, I believe that we were able to stop that today.”

During the roundtable, Pfluger pointed to a natural gas tax that he said created confusion and financial strain for producers. He says that tax has since been repealed through bipartisan legislation he sponsored.

“The second bill that was signed into law under President Trump — Trump’s second term — was a bill that I sponsored that repealed the tax on natural gas,” Pfluger said. “It was burdensome. It was also confusing to many different operators... which is exactly why I sponsored the legislation.”

“We passed that legislation in a bipartisan way to repeal that tax — so that we can actually get to the point of having regulations that make sense, that are common sense, that work with industry, which was not happening.”

EPA Regional Administrator Scott Mason added that the administration is currently undergoing what he called one of the largest regulatory rollbacks in American history.

“Administrator Zaidi came out a couple of weeks ago with 31 deregulatory actions — the largest day of deregulation in American history,” Mason said. “Especially things like greenhouse gas emissions rules that are hampering industry out here in the Permian.”

Pfluger also emphasized the importance of energy independence for both economic and national security.

“President Trump promised he was going to do this. He’s rolling back regulations. He wants to make business easier and more predictable,” Pfluger said. “We want to see this area flourish because it has provided a national security impact — not just for Texas, not just for our nation, but also for the world.”